Flux TV Aims to Stream Houston Acts to the World

Last month Studio713 and Regressive Records unveiled their latest project, Flux TV, with a launch party and screening held at River Oaks Theatre. Now the Flux TV iPhone app is set for release on the Apple's iTunes Store tomorrow.

"Since the studio's inception three or four years ago, we've released work for bands like New York City Queens, and we've released about 25 videos into the Houston market," explains NYCQ singer/guitarist John Allen Stephens, who also works as a producer and engineer at Studio713.

"We've come to realize that we're a multimedia studio, and because we're a boutique production company with a small, defined staff, we felt like we were moving in that direction naturally," he says.

But though Flux TV is best described as a multimedia platform, there's more to it than that. The free, interactive app will stream continuous content to its users, with a design centered around the feel of early MTV. Within the database, anything locally created can be discovered, including but not limited to music videos, themed programs, animation and even comedy bits. It's both brilliant and simple, allowing for example users to experience a new band between watching a man get his chest waxed and a show featuring drunk puppets.

And because the app is designed with artificial intelligence, the program will ultimately create a unique channel based on what each user chooses to watch and ignore, which means that no two people will likely get the same Flux TV experience.

Located in East Downtown a block away from House of Creeps and The Doctor's Office, the studio has transformed an old brick building into a creative destination. And despite being home to local label Regressive Records and two recording studios, there's more than enough room for things like animation, video production in-house design and photo shoots.

Stephens says Flux TV is driven by a ten-person team whose belief in Houston's creative community will help expand our local art and music scenes outside city limits.

"Because it will be streaming continuously, it will need to be updated constantly," he says. "We would love to collaborate with anyone and everyone. The idea is to get as many people as possible using this, starting with the city, then state, then wherever."

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As of now, Studio713 and Regressive Records have worked with numerous local acts, including the Queens, Little Bastards, Josiah Hall and Carl Thomas. If last month's screening is any indication to the app's effectiveness, Flux TV will only help expose Houston artists to anyone with access to an iPhone.

This means that, because it's is built entirely by a grass-roots team and will stream independently without requiring the use of YouTube or Vimeo, the app will be a one-stop shop for anyone looking to discover fresh talent.

The most impressive idea behind the app, however, might be its execution. Sure, it's the first app of its nature in Houston (and to Stephens' knowledge, Texas) but it's not built to cater to anyone other than the user. Submitting content will be simple, and Stephens promises an open forum on how to do that on the app's corresponding Web site, fluxtv.com.

Furthermore, the Flux TV team is already in the process of hosting a screening in Austin within the next couple of months, and has its eye other ways to continue spreading Houston's local talent wherever it lands.